Analyzing Medical Personnel’s Perceptions of Online Health Rumors

Author

Date of Issue

Conference Name

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists (IMECS) 2017

School

Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and InformationLee Kong Chian School of Medicine

Version

Published version

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze medical personnel’s perceptions of online health rumors as a function of two factors: rumor type, and the presence of counterrumors. The two types of rumors include dread rumors that warn of dangerous consequences, and wish rumors that inform about potential benefits. Counter-rumors are messages that refute rumors. A total of 60 participants (20 doctors + 20 nurses + 20 medical students) were recruited to take part in an experiment. They were exposed to cancer-related dread and wish rumors—some accompanied with counter-rumors while others without counter-rumors. The participants’ perceptions that were examined include intention to trust, and intention to share. These were measured using a questionnaire. A 2 (rumor type: dread, wish) x 2 (presence of counter-rumors: present, absent) factorial analysis of variance was conducted for data analysis. The results indicate that dread rumors were trusted and shared more compared with wish rumors. Besides, counter-rumors were effective in reducing intention to trust and share rumors, especially for dread rumors. Nonetheless, the medically trained participants were generally reluctant to view online health rumors favorably.